Wolf Line by Vivian Arend Page A

watched her from a distance when he could. Which was creepy as all get out in a way, and not totally his idea. He was uneasy about Keri, and making sure there was nothing bad going on with Chad was important. But more than that, stalking her in his few spare moments was the only way he could make his wolf happy enough to get any rest at all. The creature was insistent they go drop in on the woman. Maybe shred a few layers of clothing off her body. Put a real smile on her face—and his wolf had resorted to making the images popping to mind as specific as possible, which was totally dirty pool on the beast’s part.
    His wolf wanted the woman, or more correctly the woman’s wolf, with something close to obsession.
    Keri wasn’t happy. When she smiled, it never reached her eyes. And while he hadn’t been around all the time, he’d seen enough to notice that the few times he’d had her under observation, she’d ducked away from Chad like he was bad business.
    Had they had a lovers’ spat?
    Jared didn’t trust the guy. Seemed the type to take things out on a girl to get what he wanted.
    There was nothing to be done about it now but wait out the rest of the voyage. At least he was due some time off—the schedule clearly put him free for the rest of the day after he finished this job. Even slave master Chad couldn’t change the master calendar without approval and paying overtime. Which the asshole wouldn’t do because Jared suspected the extra cash would be considered a wonderful thing.
    Jared cranked the wrench a little harder. Yup. This afternoon he was going to go find a quiet place on deck and suntan. Sleep. Maybe buy a beer and chill…
    Ah, who was he kidding? He was going to have a shower, jerk off— again , then find Keri and try to silently follow her. Again.
    Obsessed. It wasn’t just the beast who had it bad.
    He tightened the bolt one more time, and the upper arm of the pipes broke apart, cold water spraying everywhere. A shot struck him directly in the eyes, and he grasped blindly for the water shut-off.
    By the time he’d managed to stop the spray, he was soaked, and his only moderately dry item, his work pants, he used on the puddle at his feet. Jared sat forlornly on the floor, wishing he was five and could enjoy a good pout. Damn cruise ship. Damn water taps.
    He chuckled. Poor baby Jared. He snapped himself out of his funk, sopped up the floor and put things into place the best he could before using his walkie-talkie.
    “Sorry, guys, the master line snapped. Someone needs to bring extra parts to replace it.”
    One of the team he’d worked with earlier responded quickly. “I can finish it up for you. It’s your afternoon off. Which room you in?”
    Jared told him then looked down at himself. “If I leave my wet stuff here, can you take it for me?”
    His co-worker laughed. “You did that good a job, did you? No worries. I’ll bring a cart with me to clean up. I’ll hang your things in the staff-room bath.”
    “Awesome. I’m heading back to my quarters for dry gear. I don’t think the passengers would appreciate seeing me streaking with a pile of dripping clothing soaking the carpets in my wake.”
    “Yeah, the carpets would be tough to explain to management.”
    Jared tucked his wet things into the tub before shifting to wolf. He could probably have walked the halls naked—most shifters were pretty cool about stuff like that—but he wasn’t sure of the exact rules regarding crew and passengers, and at this point, it wasn’t as if he wanted any extra attention his direction. Walking in his wolf form? No one would take a second glance.
    He grabbed his work belt in his mouth. That was the one item he couldn’t afford to leave behind. Chad would probably charge him triple to replace it if anything went missing. It wasn’t the money; it was the gloating Jared couldn’t stand to anticipate.
    He got himself out of the room and trotted downward, taking the stairs, slipping past the